Happy Together on Wings
by Wish He Was Mine
Summary: One shot. Sequel to 'Snow Bunnies'. Rated for emotional content and character death. What is the price of freedom? Ryou tests the limits and leaves behind his first and only love Malik...


A/N: Though 'Snow Bunnies' is a companion to another story this is if the events did not go the way of that story.

Warnings: Character death.

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Happy together on wings

Tears ran down his face as Malik stood on the cliff over looking the ocean. It wasn't fair, he wasn't supposed to have left him all alone, and he wasn't supposed to have given up. Ryou shouldn't have died…

- Flash Back -

He had found Ryou's body; the other teen had looked as if he was only sleeping. Except, his skin was paler than normal and he was so cold as he lay there on his side, hands tucked beneath his chin in an innocent pose on his bed.

Malik had done the only thing he could in that situation, he collapsed into tears. He knew their life was harsh, but he never thought that Ryou would go this far; he'd always been the strong one in their relationship.

When he was able he dragged himself out to the phone and called Odion at home, "Ishtar residence?"

"Odion! Ryou's, Ryou's…" He couldn't even get the word out, just collapsed into loud sobs.

"Master Malik! Where are you? What happened to Ryou?"

"Ryou's gone! He's gone… he went to sleep forever." He was so overcome by the grief that he didn't even know what he was saying anymore as he sat in the hall crying into the phone. "He's so cold and he won't wake up Odion. Can you come wake him up? I want him to wake up…"

"Oh master Malik… I will be there as soon as I can. Do not go anywhere."

"Okay Odion, you can come help me wake Ryou up." He'd hung up the phone then and crawled back into Ryou's room, sitting on the floor with his head on the bed, one hand stroking Ryou's hair as he cried. The next thing he remembered was Odion's strong arms around him, pulling him away from the bed and he turned into the larger man. "How come he won't wake up? If he doesn't get up we can't go out to the park like we are supposed to."

"Master Malik I am so sorry." Malik collapsed into fresh tears, this time into Odion's chest. Ishizu had been called and she found them like this on the floor, he remembered her gasp when she saw Ryou's body on the bed and how he'd looked up into her incredibly sad blue eyes.

"Ryou's gone."

He lost track of things after that, he remembered fighting Odion when the paramedics came to take Ryou away, his boyfriend wasn't supposed to be dead, they couldn't say that!

It had been Ishizu who noticed the heavy parchment envelopes on the desk next to the bottle that had held the pills Ryou obviously overdosed on; one was labeled 'Will' while the other was blank. She had opened the one labeled 'Will' and pulled out the folded sheets of paper, reading the first page aloud in a soft voice, "To whomever finds this, these are the numbers where my father and our lawyer can be reached. The lawyer must be called to read my will in my room once I have been taken away…" She had trailed off when he began crying harder, still refusing to leave the room. He didn't remember exactly what had happened until the lawyer along with them, Téa, Tristin, Joey and Yugi had been gathered in the room according to the will. All of the teenagers were crying and he remembered seeing tears even in Ishizu's eyes as the man began to read the will in a dull voice.

"To my friends I Ryou Bakura leave this; To Joey Wheeler and Tristin Taylor, any of my game systems, stereo or electronic things of the like are yours to divided between you. To Téa Gardner I give the entire collection of glass unicorns that once belonged to my sister Amane with the exception of the one on the desk. To Yugi Moto," The man paused and frowned. "There are instructions here for you to pull out the bottommost drawer of his desk completely." Yugi hadn't moved right away, not until the pharaoh had taken over and moved for the teen. The lawyer continued speaking as they did, "There you will find two boxes, the first is for Yugi. There is a note here, it reads. 'I have been saving since I was five, I never knew for what, but I do know there should be enough there to get your grandfathers shop out of the debts that were created by the loans he took.'"

Everyone but himself had gasped as Yugi/Yami pulled the rubber bands from the cigar box sized box and the lid sprang open to reveal that it was stuffed full of neatly stacked hundreds, probably ten thousand dollars at least inside. Yugi came back to himself and closed the box, he had heard even through his immense grief at the time the small duelist whisper a thank you to Ryou.

The lawyer had continued on with barely a pause, "To Malik Ishtar I give the second box and the items contained within along with the purple glass unicorn on the desk. My father may do as he wishes with any of my other possessions. That is all that is here, I will be leaving now."

They had just sat grieving in silence for a while, he hadn't even moved to get the box left to him, until Ishizu picked up the second envelope and opened it, "It's a letter to all of us."

Dear everyone,

I am sorry to have to have done this, but I cannot bear the life I have been given any longer.

I know it is selfish, but it has all become too much, too many years of living alone, being

abused and living with the grief of my mother's and sister's death.

I want Yugi to take the Ring and if you ever see Bakura again, which I am sure you will,

please tell him that I forgive him. Even if you think he may not deserve it or he does not

want it, because he needs it.

Instructions have been left in my will for any of you to be flown to England at my father's

cost if you wish to attend my funeral, they will be placing my body next to my sisters there.

I am sorry for any grief my passing has caused, I love all of you but I now know I am not

meant to be here any longer. I have left a letter for Malik's eyes alone in the second box.

Goodbye,

Ryou Bakura

He had refused to leave the room even after all the others had gone home and his siblings waited in the living room for him as he took out the box meant for him. Inside was an odd collection of things and another envelope with his name scrawled on it. The tear stained letter read;

Dear Malik,

I love you and I am so sorry to do this to you, but I just could not take it anymore.

Please forgive me.

This box has all the things I have saved from our relationship that could not go into

the black scrapbook on the shelf, which you can have as well. Do you remember the

day you got to go out into the snow for the first time? The scrapbook starts there,

I went back later and saved the packets from the hot coco we had and even a

picture of the snow angels we made, along with all the other things I could save.

I also know how much you liked the one Unicorn, so it is yours.

I am sure you were the one who found me; I did not want to do this to you. But

it was all I knew to do anymore. I love you Malik and I promise I will watch

over you.

Love you always and forever,

Ryou

- End Flash Back -

Now here Malik was in England, the funeral had been over hours ago and he stood on a cliff over looking the storming ocean on this gray day. Tears continued down his face as he grieved for his lost love, holding two roses, one pure white and the other somehow dyed a soft purple color. One for Ryou, and one for himself, they were set on the ground along with a small note and pinned beneath the millennium rod, he had only a few moments before the others would come. He stepped to the very edge and jumped off with no fear, hands clasped tightly to his chest over his heart.

Ishizu screamed as she found a note from Malik and ran from the room, followed by the others at her words, "We have to stop Malik!" By the time they reached the cliff he'd last been seen at, all they found were the roses and the small note beneath the rod. It read simply; 'Goodbye, I don't belong here without him.'

Malik watched the light from the surface grow dimmer as the heavy chains he'd found dragged him down deeper into the blackness. 'I'm sorry Ishizu, Odion and all the others. Thank you for forgiving me when I didn't deserve it.' He didn't struggle or fight against the weight pulling him into the deep, not even when the cold salt water filled his lungs and his mind faded out.

'I feel warm…' A sudden warmth had replaced the cold of the water and he opened his eyes. Instead of the dark murky depths he was met with that familiar, incredibly sad but sweet face. "Ryou!" He could hear his voice in his ears and there were no bubbles.

Ryou's arms were held out in an open gesture and he moved into the embrace, neither were crying, spirits do not grieve in the way mortals do. Both looked down and watched as his body continued to sink, his blonde hair flared in the water and his clothes rippling. "Malik…" They rose together through the water, rising until they were high in the air and could see the others gathered on the cliff. Ryou turned to him with a sad smile and their foreheads touched as they went higher and higher, "We are finally free…"

Everyone on the ground looked up at some unspoken signal, they could all see the two spirits of the teenagers embraced and even as they watched, large translucent wings sprang from their backs and they disappeared into the clouds. Two soft voices reached their ears, saying one word, "Free…"

End

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A/N: Questions will have to be directed to my e-mail or IM, both are in my profile. Please put the stories title in subject line. Reviews are appreciated.

Wish He Was Mine


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